Pool vacuum apparatus

ABSTRACT

A portable pool vacuum apparatus where as the water and debris is drawn through a vacuum head into a filtration chamber within a casing, the water is passed through a plurality of spaced apart cartridge filters and into a manifold type of chamber, the water then drawn into a pumping apparatus and discharged exteriorly thereof back into the pool.

o v United States Patent 7 [1 1 [111 3,868,739 Hargrave Mar. 4, 1975 POOL VACUUM APPARATUS 3.525.435 8/1970 Conner, Jr. 210/169 [76] Inventor: Rob rt argra e, 7727 L o, 3,755,843 9/1973 Goertzen et al. l5/1.7

Canoga Park, Calif. 91306 Primary E.\'aminerGranvllle Y. Custer, Jr. [22] Flled: 1973 Assistant E.\'aminerCraig R. Feinberg [2]] APPL No: 329,302 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jack C. Munro [52] US. CL, 1.5/1.7, 210/169. 210/323 [57] ABSTRACT 3 A portable pool vacuum apparatus where as the water and debris is drawn through a vacuum head into a filtration chamber within a casing."the water is passed through a plurality of spacedap art cartridge filters [56] References Cited and into a manifold type of chamber, the water then UNITED STATES PATENTS drawn into a pumping apparatus and discharged exte- 2,893,047 7/1959 Swihart 15/347 riorly thereof back into the pool. 3.0l9,462 2/1962 Nash et al l5/l.7 Y 3,132,364 5/1962 Oxley l5/l.7 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUHAR 41915 3.868.739

sumlqfz Fig. l.

PATENTEU 4|975 1 POOL VACUUM APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a swimming pool cleaning apparatus and more particularly to a portable swimming pool cleaning apparatus which is completely separate from the normal swimming pool filtering apparatus.

In swimming pool installations, it is common practice to employ a filtration circulation system whereby the pool water is continuously drawn from the pool by a pump and through a main filter and returned to the pool. This conventional circulation system for a swimming pool normally includes a drain at the deepest portion of the pool and a skimmer with a secondary drain located near the water surface. Conduits from these drains are joined to the pump which returns the water to the pool. A filtering system is normally interposed within the system so as to extract foreign material such as dirt, leaves and the like from the pool water.

Various automatic pool cleaning equipment has been proposed. The common form of such previous equipment uses a jet stream of water on the end of hoses to stir up the water and loosen the dirt so that it will be in suspension to flow through the drain. Another type of previous apparatus crawls along on wheels or tracks at the bottom of the pool and vacuums the bottom of the pool as it travels. Each of the previous devices employs the installed filtration system within the pool. This means that the dirt and other foreign material is being added within the filtering system of the pool thereby necessitating that the pool filtration system be more frequently cleaned and the filtration medium being more frequently replaced. If the pool cleaning apparatus could be separate from the pool filtration system, the useful life of the filtration medium (such as diatomaceous earth and filter cartridges) of the pool could be substantially extended. In actual practice it has been found thatto employ a separate pool vacuuming apparatus will double the period of time that is required for cleaning and/or replacement of the filtration medium.

Additionally, the vacuum devices of the prior art usually require that a hose be connected to a poolvacuum head which is submerged in the water and then have the hose be connected to the pool filtration system. The necessity of having to use a hose of considerable length for the entire pool is quite annoying and inconvenient. For those who are in the business of pool cleaning services, it is undesirable to carry around this extended length of hose as well as it being a time consuming procedure to connect the hose to the pool filter system each time a. pool is to be cleaned. Further, it is not uncommon for the pumps of the pool filter system to be defective and therefore do not pump the necessary pressure to clean the pool efficiently in the shortest possible time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The pool vacuum system of this invention is to be designed into a single, smalLsized, portable unit of relatively light weight. The unit comprises a vacuum head which is attached to a casing. The casing includes a filtration chamber and a discharge chamber. The filtration chamber is separated from the discharge chamber by means of a housing which prevents leakage of fluid and solid material therebetween. Within the filtration chamber is mounted a plurality of filter cartridges. These cartridges are connected to the housing with water being adapted to pass through the filters and interiorly of the housing. The water is then removed from the housing by pumps which extend within the discharge chamber. The water is then discharged exteriorly of the pumps and back into the pool. The casing and vacuum head each include rollers so as to permit low frictional movement of the unit across the surfaces of the pool. An electrical wire, which is connected to the pumps, extends exteriorly of the casing and is to be connected to a source of electrical energy such as a battery. The battery is to be normally carried by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of the apparatus of this invention showing the connection of such to a battery;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view through the apparatus of this invention taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the apparatus of this invention taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view of the apparatus of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 the apparatus 10 of this invention which is ba sically composed of a handle 12 which is connected to the unit 14. A battery 16 is to be attachable by a bracket 18 to the belt of the person operating the unit 14. The battery 16 is to supply the power to drive the pumps within the unit 14. It is to be understood that the handle 12 is to'be long enough so as to extend exteriorly of the pool regardless of pool depth.

Conduit 20 is connected to the battery 16 and extends within the casing 22 of the unit 14. The casing 22 is divided into a top 24 and a bottom 26. The top 24 and the bottom 26 are held together in a closed position by a plurality of latches 28. Each of the latches 28 will normally comprise a simple toggle latch and are not described here in detail. The handle 12 is pivotally mounted to extensions 58 of the bottom 26 by means of pins 60.

With the top 24 and the bottom 26 latched together by latches 28, the casing is divided into a discharge compartment 30 and a filtration compartment 32. A housing 34 separates the compartments 30 and 32 and cooperates with the top 24 and the bottom 26 to form a substantially water-tight seal between the compartments. The housing 34 is shown to be substantially rectangular in configuration and includes a'hollow interior chamber, not shown. On one side of the housing 34 are a plurality of separate inlet opening connectors 36. The inlet connectors 36 extend within the filtration compartment 32. On the opposite side of the housing 34 and integrally connected thereto are a plurality of outlet connectors 38. The outlet connectors 38 extend within the confines of the discharge compartment 30.

From the battery 16 and passing through conduit 20 are electrical wires 40 and 42. Wire 40 is connected to pump 44 with wire 42 being connected to pump 46. The pumps 44 and 46 are conventional and need not be described here in detail. Basically, the pumps 44 and 46 are what is termed to be centrifugal type of pumps which are capable of being submerged in water. Pump 44 includes a discharge tube 48 with the pump 46 similarly including a discharge tube 50. It is to be understood that the pumps 44 and 46 are identical in construction. Although there are two pumps being shown, it is considered to be within the scope of this invention to employ only a single pump or to employ more than two pumps.

Each of the pumps 44 and 46 are connected to a respective said outlet connector 38. It is to be understood that the pumps 44 and 46 are located within a discharge compartment 30. Tube 48 is of sufficient length so as to extend through opening 52 located within the top 24. In a similar manner, discharge tube 50 is sufficient to extend through opening 54 in the top 24. Snugly fitted on each of the inlet connectors 36 (there being four in number shown) is a filter cartridge 56.

The cartridges 56 are located within the filtration compartment 32.

Formed within the underside of the bottom 26 are a plurality of wheel wells 62. Rotatably mounted by means ofa shaft, not shown, within each of the wells 62 is a roller 64. As a result, the casing 22 is capable of low frictional movement on the surface of a pool by being moved along upon rollers 64.

The cartridges 56 can be of any type of cartridge structure. However, the cartridge which is envisioned to be employed is to be a specific cartridge which is designed to remove foreign material dust particles down to five microns in size.

Mounted upon the casing 22 adjacent the filtration compartment 32 is a vacuum head 66. The vacuum head 66 includes a guide housing 68 and a bottom 70. The guide housing 68 is essentially a shell and is con nected to the casing 22 so as to close off three sides of the opening into the filtration compartment 32. Actually, the interior of the housing 68 functions as an extension of the filtration compartment and also serves to collect debris such as leaves. Extending through the bottom 70 is an elongated opening 72. The bottom 70 is shown to be substantially concave and extending into the guide housing 68. The sides of the bottom 70 are tapered toward each side. Therefore a smooth surface funnel type of structure is formed to guide debris and water toward opening 72.

The bottom 70 is fixedly mounted within a frame 74. The frame 74 includes an upper extension 76 which facilitates mounting to the casing 22. Mounted upon the fore and aft edges of the frame 74 are rubber strips 78. The rubber strips 78 are to deflect during movement of the unit 14 across the surface of the pool and to concentrate the suction which will be created to the area of the pool located directly adjacent the bottom 70. It

is to be noted that there are no rubber strips on the sides of the frame 74. It is to be further noted that the opening 72 is displaced from the ends of the bottom 70 and located more toward the middle of the bottom 70. By the proper location of the opening 72 it has been found to not be necessary to put rubber strips on the sides of the frame 74 and debris will be sucked in through the sides.

Attached to the forward edge of the frame 74 are wheel wells 80. Each of the wheel wells 80 rotatably supports a roller 82 in a manner similar to the mounting ofrollers 64.

In the operation of the apparatus of this invention, the unit is placed within the pool which causes water to be forced by the air pressure through the opening 72 into the filtration compartment through the filters into the interior of the housing 34 and into the pumps 44 and 46 to prime such. Once the pumps have been primed, the pumps 44 and 46 are turned on by activation of a switch on the battery 16, not shown. With the pumping units 44 and 46 now being operated, the water is caused to be conducted through the opening 72 into the filtration compartment 32 and from there it is passed through the filters 56 into the housing 34 and then into the pumping chamber of the pumps 44 and 46 and then out through discharge tubes 48 and 50 and back into the pool. The small particles such as dust particles are normally trapped within or upon the surface of the filters 56. By the employing of four separate filter cartridges 56, it is readily apparent that a substantial filtration surface area is obtained. The larger foreign particle material such as leaves are trapped within the filtration compartment 32. Heavier foreign material such as sand will fall upon the bottom 26 within the filtration compartment 22.

Periodically, as the apparatus 10 of this invention is used, it is taken out from the water and the top 24 is removed from the bottom 26 and the filtration compartment 32 is cleaned as by a hose or the like. Also, during this cleaning procedure, each of the cartridges 56 should be cleaned of debris. The cartridges 56 can be readily removed to be separately cleaned and backwashed.

What is claimed is:

1. A pool vacuum apparatus comprising:

a casing being divided into a filtration compartment and a discharge compartment;

a completely enclosed hollow housing having an inlet and an outlet providing access into an interior chamber, said housing separating said discharge compartment and said filtration compartment;

a filtration means located within said filtration compartment and connected to said housing, said filtra tion means attached to said inlet whereby water to enter said interior chamber must pass through said filtration means;

pump means attached to said outlet of said housing and receives only water from said interior chamber, said pump means located within said discharge compartment, a discharge means connected to said pump means; and

a vacuum head attached to said casing and located adjacent said filtration means, said vacuum head adapted to permit entry of water and foreign material and guide such towards said filtration means whereby the water is conducted through said filtration means and into said housing and through said pump means and into said discharge means with the foreign material remaining exteriorly of, or caught within, said filtration means.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said inlet comprising a plurality of separate spacedapart inlet openings, said filtration means comprises a plurality of separate filter cartridges, a said filter cartridge surrounds a said inlet opening.

3(Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said housing cooperating with said casing to effect separation of said filtration compartment from said discharge compartment and prevent leakage of water and foreign material about said housing from said vacuum head includes a bottom surface mounted within a frame, a vacuum head guide housing connected to said frame and located about and spaced above said bottom surface, the space formed between said bottom surface and said guide housing comprising a guide chamber, an opening located within said bottom surface thereby providing access into said guide chamber, said bottom surface being substantially concave in configuration and extending within said guide chamber. 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein: said opening having an elongated narrow shape, said guide chamber forming a direct extension of said filtration compartment. 

1. A pool vacuum apparatus comprising: a casing being divided into a filtration compartment and a discharge compartment; a completely enclosed hollow housing having an inlet and an outlet providing access into an interior chamber, said housing separating said discharge compartment and said filtration compartment; a filtration means located within said filtration compartment and connected to said housing, said filtration means attached to said inlet whereby water to enter said interior chamber must pass through said filtration means; pump means attached to said outlet of said housing and receives only water from said interior chamber, said pump means located within said discharge compartment, a discharge means connected to said pump means; and a vacuum head attached to said casing and located adjacent said filtration means, said vacuum head adapted to permit entry of water and foreign material and guide such towards said filtration means whereby the water is conducted through said filtration means and into said housing and through said pump means and into said discharge means with the foreign material remaining exteriorly of, or caught within, said filtration means.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein: said inlet comprising a plurality of separate spaced-apart inlet openings, said filtration means comprises a plurality of separate filter cartridges, a said filter cartridge surrounds a said inlet opening.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein: said housing cooperating with said casing to effect separation of said filtration compartment from said discharge compartment and prevent leakage of water and foreign material about said housing from said filtration compartment into said discharge compartment.
 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein: said pump means comprises a plurality of separate pumping units, said pumping units being driven by electrical energy supplied from a battery.
 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein: said casing comprises a top and a bottom, said top being removable from said bottom to permit cleaning of said inlet chamber and said filtration means of foreign material.
 6. A pool vacuum apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein: said vacuum head includes a bottom surface mounted within a frame, a vacuum head guide housing connected to said frame and located about and spaced above said bottom surface, the space formed between said bottom surface and said guide housing comprising a guide chamber, an opening located within said bottom surface thereby providing access into said guide chamber, said bottom surface being substantially concave in configuration and extending within said guide chamber.
 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein: said opening having an elongated narrow shape, said guide chamber forming a direct extension of said filtration compartment. 